Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei.
Dispersal beyond the local patch in clonal plants was typically thought to result from sexual reproduction via seed dispersal. However, evidence for the separation, transport by water, and re-establishment of asexual propagules (asexual hydrochory) is mounting suggesting other important means of dis...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2018-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6095491?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1811194970405601280 |
|---|---|
| author | Buga Berković Nelson Coelho Licínia Gouveia Ester A Serrão Filipe Alberto |
| author_facet | Buga Berković Nelson Coelho Licínia Gouveia Ester A Serrão Filipe Alberto |
| author_sort | Buga Berković |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dispersal beyond the local patch in clonal plants was typically thought to result from sexual reproduction via seed dispersal. However, evidence for the separation, transport by water, and re-establishment of asexual propagules (asexual hydrochory) is mounting suggesting other important means of dispersal in aquatic plants. Using an unprecedented sampling size and microsatellite genetic identification, we describe the distribution of seagrass clones along tens of km within a coastal lagoon in Southern Portugal. Our spatially explicit individual-based sampling design covered 84 km2 and collected 3 185 Zostera noltei ramets from 803 sites. We estimated clone age, assuming rhizome elongation as the only mechanism of clone spread, and contrasted it with paleo-oceanographic sea level change. We also studied the association between a source of disturbance and the location of large clones. A total of 16 clones were sampled more than 10 times and the most abundant one was sampled 59 times. The largest distance between two samples from the same clone was 26.4 km and a total of 58 and 10 clones were sampled across more than 2 and 10 km, respectively. The number of extremely large clone sizes, and their old ages when assuming the rhizome elongation as the single causal mechanism, suggests other processes are behind the span of these clones. We discuss how the dispersal of vegetative fragments in a stepping-stone manner might have produced this pattern. We found higher probabilities to sample large clones away from the lagoon inlet, considered a source of disturbance. This study corroborates previous experiments on the success of transport and re-establishment of asexual fragments and supports the hypothesis that asexual hydrochory is responsible for the extent of these clones. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:36:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a1fa23aad4f4463a6abbafd6356fbf2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:36:03Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a1fa23aad4f4463a6abbafd6356fbf22022-12-22T03:55:09ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01138e019927510.1371/journal.pone.0199275Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei.Buga BerkovićNelson CoelhoLicínia GouveiaEster A SerrãoFilipe AlbertoDispersal beyond the local patch in clonal plants was typically thought to result from sexual reproduction via seed dispersal. However, evidence for the separation, transport by water, and re-establishment of asexual propagules (asexual hydrochory) is mounting suggesting other important means of dispersal in aquatic plants. Using an unprecedented sampling size and microsatellite genetic identification, we describe the distribution of seagrass clones along tens of km within a coastal lagoon in Southern Portugal. Our spatially explicit individual-based sampling design covered 84 km2 and collected 3 185 Zostera noltei ramets from 803 sites. We estimated clone age, assuming rhizome elongation as the only mechanism of clone spread, and contrasted it with paleo-oceanographic sea level change. We also studied the association between a source of disturbance and the location of large clones. A total of 16 clones were sampled more than 10 times and the most abundant one was sampled 59 times. The largest distance between two samples from the same clone was 26.4 km and a total of 58 and 10 clones were sampled across more than 2 and 10 km, respectively. The number of extremely large clone sizes, and their old ages when assuming the rhizome elongation as the single causal mechanism, suggests other processes are behind the span of these clones. We discuss how the dispersal of vegetative fragments in a stepping-stone manner might have produced this pattern. We found higher probabilities to sample large clones away from the lagoon inlet, considered a source of disturbance. This study corroborates previous experiments on the success of transport and re-establishment of asexual fragments and supports the hypothesis that asexual hydrochory is responsible for the extent of these clones.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6095491?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Buga Berković Nelson Coelho Licínia Gouveia Ester A Serrão Filipe Alberto Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei. PLoS ONE |
| title | Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei. |
| title_full | Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei. |
| title_fullStr | Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei. |
| title_short | Individual-based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in Zostera noltei. |
| title_sort | individual based genetic analyses support asexual hydrochory dispersal in zostera noltei |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6095491?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bugaberkovic individualbasedgeneticanalysessupportasexualhydrochorydispersalinzosteranoltei AT nelsoncoelho individualbasedgeneticanalysessupportasexualhydrochorydispersalinzosteranoltei AT liciniagouveia individualbasedgeneticanalysessupportasexualhydrochorydispersalinzosteranoltei AT esteraserrao individualbasedgeneticanalysessupportasexualhydrochorydispersalinzosteranoltei AT filipealberto individualbasedgeneticanalysessupportasexualhydrochorydispersalinzosteranoltei |